Despite claims to the contrary, building in E1 would not necessarily undermine the contiguity of a future Palestinian state.

Dear Reader,
As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before.
Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications,
like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations,
we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open
and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news
and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

It can be argued that on a tactical level, our government’s reaction to the
Palestinian UN bid was a mistake.

The announcement of plans for 3,000
housing units in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria less than 24 hours after the UN
General Assembly vote to give “Palestine” non-member observer status might be
interpreted by the US, Canada, the Czech Republic and the other five countries
that voted against the Palestinian bid and the 41 states that abstained (not to
mention the countries that voted in favor) as an unnecessary
provocation.

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert, speaking Saturday at the
Saban Forum in Washington, called the announcement a “slap in the face” for US
President Barack Obama.

The move also unfairly paints Israel – at least
in the eyes of the international community – as the guilty party in the ongoing
deadlock in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

More substantially,
the idea that Jewish settlement construction can be used as a means of
punishment against Palestinians is wrongheaded. We build in existing Jewish
neighborhoods in Jerusalem such as Pisgat Ze’ev and Gilo or in consensus
settlement blocs like Gush Etzion and Ariel out of a real need to supply housing
for a fast-growing population. Unlike the vast majority of Western countries,
Israel enjoys brisk natural population growth.

Indeed, our high fertility
rate combined with our high standard of living is one of many signs of Israel’s
vitality and health.

Nevertheless, on a more principled level, the
decision to move ahead with building in areas that a broad majority of Israelis
expect to be a part of any future Jewish state – even after a two-state solution
is implemented – is perfectly in line with our country’s interests.

Even
the decision to authorize zoning and planning for E1 follows in the footsteps of
a long chain of governments – both left wing and right wing.

In October
1994, while in the midst of hammering out the Oslo Accords, then-prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin declared that a “united Jerusalem” would include Ma’aleh Adumim as
the capital of Israel under Israel sovereignty. As part of the effort to make
sure Ma’aleh Adumim remained an integral part of a “united Jerusalem,” Rabin
provided then-mayor Benny Kashriel with annexation documents for the E1 area –a
strip of land that connects the capital with Ma’aleh Adumim.

As prime
minister in 1996, Shimon Peres reaffirmed the government’s position that Israel
will demand applying Israeli sovereignty over Ma’aleh Adumim in the framework of
a permanent peace agreement. Dovish politician and co-author of the Geneva
Initiative, Yossi Beilin, supported annexing Ma’aleh Adumim. And the 2000
Clinton Parameters called for Israel to be compensated for the partitioning of
Jerusalem by annexing Ma’aleh Adumim.

During the 2008 Annapolis
negotiations, then-prime minister Ehud Olmert and then-foreign minister Tzipi
Livni demanded that Ma’aleh Adumim remain a part of Israel. And Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu’s declaration Sunday ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting that
“the State of Israel will continue to build in Jerusalem and in all the places
on the state’s strategic map” is a continuation of the political traditional
that views control over E1 as a cardinal Israeli interest.

Consecutive
governments on the Left and on the Right have understood the strategic
importance of maintaining control over Ma’aleh Adumim, as well as E1. Without
control over E1, Palestinian building could cut off Ma’aleh Adumim – a city with
a population of 40,000 – from the capital; it could also undermine Israel’s
access to the Jerusalem-Jericho road, of critical strategic importance for
transport of troops and equipment from Jerusalem eastward and northward via the
Jordan Rift Valley.

And despite claims to the contrary, building in E1
would not necessarily undermine the contiguity of a future Palestinian state. An
access road could easily allow Palestinian traffic from the south and north to
pass east of Ma’aleh Adumim and continue northward or southward.

While
the timing of our government’s announcement might result in negative diplomatic
repercussions, building in Jerusalem and E1 protects integral Israeli interests
recognized and protected by both left-wing and right-wing governments for well
over a decade.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>

The Jerusalem Post Customer Service Center can be contacted with any questions or requests:
Telephone: *2421 * Extension 4 Jerusalem Post or 03-7619056 Fax: 03-5613699E-mail: subs@jpost.com
The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 07:00 and 14:00 and Fridays only handles distribution requests between 7:00 and
13:00
For international customers: The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 7AM and 6PM
Toll Free number in Israel only 1-800-574-574
Telephone +972-3-761-9056
Fax: 972-3-561-3699
E-mail: subs@jpost.com